St. Louis mayor Slay gives testimony on St. Louis police local control bill

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay delivers his annual State of the City report to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen at City Hall in St. Louis on April 25, 2008. Slay spoke out today about local control of St. Louis' police department.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told the committee on governmental organization that an overwhelming majority of voters support local control, and that under state control, city residents have no input into how the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is run.

“Again, if something goes wrong in city government, if people have an issue with what I’m doing, they can go to the polls and they can vote one way or another…they can’t do that with respect to the police department,” Slay said.

“I think your problem’s gonna be getting the bill off the floor, if it gets to the floor, because of the filibuster rule," Engler said, "there’s quite a few people that sympathize with your opponents…but as a former mayor, and I know my vice chair’s a former mayor, we’re very similar, we sympathize (with you).”

The senate version of the bill is already being filibustered by a group of opposing senators. Opponents to the House bill also testified today that police pensions could be raided if St. Louis regains control over its police department.

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St. Louis residents pay for the city’s police force, but the state controls it.

While St. Louis’ mayor sits on the Board of Police Commissioners, Missouri’s governor appoints the other four members.

It’s been that way for 150 years, since the outset of the Civil War.

In recent years, the drumbeat to bring local control back to the city has been growing louder.

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